Archive for October, 2007

Thanks to everyone who participated in Blogger Bingo 2007! By all appearances, it was a huge success. No bingo-related injuries or arrests were reported, even with 168 people involved.

And a super special thanks to David and Mel for being the Official Blogger Bingo Headquarters, which basically meant they had spare bingo cards and provided the perfect spot to display the amazing felted scarf/banner that Woolybuns Chris made for me last year. How awesome was that? It looked stunning on the rafters of the barn.

And Mel performed Paul Lynde duty perfectly this year as the center square. I hope everyone bought a pair of the alpaca socks that were at his booth, they truly are amazing. We at Chez Stitchy are particularly fond of the cotton/alpaca sport socks. So. Awesome. And machine washable! If you didnt, Ill remind you next year.

A few people mentioned that they didn’t seem to be appearing on any cards, but I did a double-check when I got home and everyone what was a square appeared on two cards. Some were Saturday or Sunday Only cards, but you were all on there. I think Ill do fewer cards next year, rather than making extras so everyone would be on two. There’s a weird balance you have to reach so people don’t get their own cards and whatnot. Its kind of a process. Maybe Ill program something in Excel to help automate it a little. I hate that people were feeling disappointed and left out.

But all in all, I think everyone had a good time. Its always great to put faces and voices to the blogs you read and the names you see in emails and comments. The Ravelry buttons were a huge help because there was a nice space for people to write their names on. It was a huge help as my recollection of names and faces is about on par with that of your average box of rocks. That is to say, not very good at all. There are times when I look at my husband and say “And you arrrreeee . . . .?” So, y’know.

And now, without further delay (because Ive delayed enough its been a week, let me tell you. I had a 9am conference call on Monday morning and work has been crazy since then. I’m glad this week is over.)

THE WINNERS!!!!

Winners were selected by a very scientific method. I kept asking my husband to pick a number between 1 and 168 and matched them up to my spreadsheet. There were more prizes than Id thought because about halfway through, he begged me to stop badgering him with demands for random numbers. I may or may not have explained what I was doing at the time. (I will also be emailing the winners and prize donors to get addresses and whatnot)

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Mel (the Center Square!) – Cabezalana and David donated a cute alpaca monkey (handmade in Peru, Pennsylvania-approved!) from A Craftsmans Touch. I almost forgot to give him out as a prize, Id gotten accustomed to having him pinned to my knitting bag.

Robyn of Knit & Purl Mama is going to pick something special for one lucky winner out of either her stash or her shop, Robyn’s Nest! (I bet when you have a yarn shop, it’s hard to tell the difference between the two.)

Denise of Knitting Without Needles (oh, yes she does!) is donating a copy of her book Learn to Knit on Circle Looms, along with a set of knitting looms so you can start right away. I’ve seen the amazing things make their way off knitting looms, you’re going to love this!

Lynee, who isn’t a blogger but is still part of the knitting family, is handing over what she has deemed “lurvly Canuckian goodness”. Two skeins of Koigu! Pretty awesome, eh?

WINNER: Maureen (also not a blogger. Maybe theyll talk each other into joining the fray.)

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The lovely ladies of Ariadne (wow, that sounds kind of hot is a Mythological sort of way – rowr) are bestowing upon one mere mortal a skein of Opal Hundertwasser! And no, you don’t have to pronounce it to win it. Well . . . maybe . . .

Just a quick not to say there will be a Blogger/Ravelry meetup between 12 and 1 outside the food building. It’s sort of a non-officiated, casual thing that Jess mentioned would be a good idea. Usually Cara puts it together, be she seems to have other things on her mind. And bladder. So the group will probably just kind of amass organically, and disperse much in the same manner.

Also, tsocktsarina says there will me a message board set up at VanCalcar Acres in Building D, space #26. Their booth is also being used as a meetup point for some Ravelry and Knittyboard people (I’m not sure if there’s a specific time), so if you can stop by any time to leave a message for someone if you’re looking for them! Sweet!

A blog post? Don’t worry, there’s still no knitting. Boooo! But I have sent out all the Blogger Bingo cards, so if you signed up to play and haven’t gotten one, let me know. Also, while it’s too late to sign up to be a square, you can still sign up to play! Just shoot me an email and I’ll send you a card.

I also managed to get myself into the big author signing on Sunday in the building near Tent D. I think that’s it. It seems like the sort of thing I should find out, doesn’t it? Just follow the throngs of people looking for the amazing ladies on this page and you’ll find me mixed in, all wide-eyed and giggling like a fan girl. I feel like I’ve infiltrated some kind of secret society. Hee!

I will also be in and out of David and Mel’s booth for A Craftsman’s Touch in Barn 39, Booth D all day Saturday. They’re the official Blogger Bingo Headquarters, so you can get extra cards there if you need them. I’ll be signing books there, and they’ll also be selling my t-shirts and tote bags at a special price for Rhinebeck – $12 each! Dudes, I really need to sell these, I simply cannot keep giving them away as Christmas gifts unless I get an entirely new family and set of friends. The ones I have now all have at least one already.

And, Maryse is launching her new line of cards! You can buy them at David and Mel’s. They’re beautiful, but we only have a limited quantity, so come one over quick to get your paws on them. I have too many favorites to list and they keep changing (I waffle between the spinning wheel bobbin and the baby sheep), so come see for yourself. They are $3.95 each, cheaper and WAY better than some boring card from the grocery store.

And just so it’s not all Rhinebeck, all the time, I’ll tell you something really goofy I did. See, I’ve never really been very good at managing my time and always seem to be running around like a nut trying to get things done. So what do you do when time is short? Open and Etsy shop, of course! But you already knew about that.

So what do you do when time is short AND you’ve gone an opened an Etsy shop that you now must fill with stuff? Well, on a whim, you apply to the Boston Bazaar Bizarre because you know you won’t get accepted, so what the hell. And then you go and get accepted. Yikes! So I’m sewing and crafting like crazy to get a table full of the coolest stuff I can come up with. This has been really hard with Blogger Bingo to juggle, but I did manage to make four baby dresses over the past couple of weekends! And 10 sets of fabric covered buttons with tie-tack pin backs using vintage fabric! And some crazy gift tags! I’m really tired!! But I love every second of it, so my grousing is only because I can’t fit even more stuff into a day.

I don’t have photos of the dresses yet because I still need to attach snaps. I’ll show you when they’re done, I’m really pleased with them. But some of the tags and pins are up in my shop, if you’re interested.

And finally, to close, I would like to give you a shot of cuteness to round out the day. I am LOVING the aunt thing! My niece, Ginger, is now about a year and three months and she can yell my name, make robot noises and loves hanging out with her cousin, Chi Chi. And Chi Chi loves her back. He flops around for her, lets her grab his feet, tail, face, whatever. He never swats, in fact, he barely moves away, such is his love for her. He runs to the door when he hears her coming up the stairs. Seriously, it’s so cute, I can barely stand it. When she leans over and kisses him on the head, it just melts my heart. And, Ginger loves to share. Look.

Awwwwww . . . You’ll be happy to know that he politely declined and opted to lick the drops off the floor after she left.

Well, ok, we do. But we don’t need to stick to them so rigidly. Originally, the deadline to sign up for Blogger Bingo was October 10th. But because the space-time continuum has clearly been futzed with in the past few weeks, or what would appear to be the past few weeks, but really could have been 10 minutes or six years, I have extended it to the 11th. But I mean it, if you don’t enter by the 12th, that is it!

Got that? New deadline for Blogger Bingo Sign-ups is now October 12th. I need to assemble the cards over the next couple of days, and once they’re put together, it gets really confusing to change them. Come to think of it, it’s confusing to put them together in the first place. Then, because Yahoo only allows me to send out a certain number of emails in a certain amount of time, I can’t just send them all out in one sitting, I have to space it out.

So once the whole making-the-cards thing is done, there’s not much I can do to add you to a card as a square. Last year, we did have some squares cancel at the last minute, so I was able to replace them with late entries who were on stand-by. I can do that again this year, but can’t guarentee anyone a spot after the 12th at midnight (eastern time).

Players, however, are waaay easier to accommodate. I’ll even have some extra cards at Rhinebeck for people who decide right then that they simply must get in on the action. More info on where to find Rhinebeck Blogger Bingo Headquarters, located at David and Mel’s booth for “A Craftsman’s Touch”, when I find out where the booth is located.

And I really need to be doing a normal, non-bingo post at some point. But when? WHEN, I ask you??

All fixed! If you entered by midnight, you’re on the list. If you did enter by midnight and STILL aren’t on the list, let me know. Or if you’re in the wrong section, let me know.

I also added the Prize Sponsor page, check it out! I’m still adding prizes, but these are the definites so far. Thanks to everyone who’s donated so far! I know it’s not for charity, but it’s part of what makes Blogger Bingo fun, and to me, making fellow fiber fiends smile is always a worthwhile cause.